POSSIBLY TAINTED CLOTHES FALL ONTO I-15, DELAY TRAFFIC

Traffic on southbound I-15 was stymied for several hours Friday while state workers inspected four garbage bags that may have contained asbestos materials that blew from the back of a truck shortly before noon.

Two of the four 30-gallon garbage bags broke open, spilling clothing onto the roadway that had been worn by workers when they removed roofing materials from the Hotel Utah that contained asbestos. State hazardous waste and air quality specialists were called to the scene to make sure the spill was not dangerous, said Rick Carlile, hazardous materials specialist with the Utah Highway Patrol.Several southbound lanes were closed during the cleanup to ensure vehicles didn't get close enough to the spilled clothing to stir any asbestos fibers into the air before they could be cleaned up, Carlile said.

Bullough Abatement and Supply Inc., of Salt Lake City, is the contractor removing the materials from the hotel and owns the truck that spilled the bags. Bullough workers wearing respirators also cleaned up the freeway spill, Carlile said.

The type of asbestos in the roofing material that may have gotten on the clothing does not pose an airborne hazard, Carlile said. "There was not a problem, but we were there just to make sure."